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President Bongbong Marcos signs into law the New Government Procurement Act and the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act on Saturday.

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Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1721444622373GS5JiSJasAUm3N0.jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. signs into law the New Government Procurement Act and the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act on Saturday, July 20, 2024. Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN NewsPresident Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. signs into law the New Government Procurement Act and the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act on Saturday, July 20, 2024. Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. signs into law the New Government Procurement Act and the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act on Saturday, July 20, 2024. <em>Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span><span dir="ltr" id="isPasted">MANILA (UPDATE) — President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Saturday signed into law the New Government Procurement Act and the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act ahead of his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.</span> </div><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/01/23/24/bsp-says-anti-scam-bill-seen-hurdling-senate-by-may">• BSP says anti-scam bill seen hurdling Senate by May</a></div><div><span dir="ltr" id="isPasted"></span></div><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">&quot;We have just signed into law two new bills that will move us closer to attaining a strong, more responsive, and efficient bureaucracy, and to establishing safeguards for the financial rights and welfare of every Filipino,&quot; Marcos said in a speech in Malacañan Palace.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">Republic Act No. 12010 or the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) prohibits and punishes financial crimes, such as acting as money mules, performing social engineering schemes, and committing economic sabotage.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">&quot;To combat the surge in crimes involving scams online, this new law mandates financial institutions to implement necessary safeguards to protect our citizens’ accounts and this is essential in this time as cybercriminals use technology to defraud fellow Filipinos — causing not only personal economic loss through them but also a loss of trust in financial institutions,&quot; Marcos explained in his speech.</p><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/5/24/congress-oks-anti-financial-account-scamming-act-1610">• Congress OKs Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act</a></div><div><span dir="ltr" id="isPasted"></span></div><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">The AFASA also gives the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) power “to investigate and inquire into financial accounts that may be involved in the commission of prohibited acts.”</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">The BSP now has the authorization “to apply for cybercrime warrants with respect to electronic communications used in any violation of this measure,” the President said.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">“I hope that, through this law, we can deter the majority of the financial scams that we have been seeing while at the same time fostering greater trust in our digitization efforts,” he said.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">The BSP welcomed the passage of the AFASA, underscoring that the new law would help them “strengthen consumer protection and foster trust and confidence in the Philippine financial system.”</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">“Responsible institutions are also given the authority to hold disputed funds in financial accounts under certain conditions, as well as initiate a coordinated verification process to validate the disputed transactions,” the BSP said in a statement.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">“The AFASA is in line with the BSP’s goals of promoting a strong financial system and an efficient, safe, and secure digital payments ecosystem that supports the diverse needs and capabilities of individuals and firms,” the statement read.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">In 2021, the Philippines was placed into the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) gray list after the foreign panel flagged deficiencies in the country’s financial system, including a “need to increase the registration of designated non-financial business and profession (DNFBP)” and the need to “increase in money laundering investigations and prosecutions.”</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">In January, Marcos Jr. ordered government agencies to immediately resolve issues flagged by FATF.</p><div style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px"><strong>NEW GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT ACT</strong><span dir="ltr" id="isPasted"></span></div><div style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px"><span dir="ltr">Marcos also signed into law the New Government Procurement Act or the NGPA, which updated Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.</span><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/5/24/congress-oks-new-procurement-act-1325"></a></div><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/5/24/congress-oks-new-procurement-act-1325">• Congress OKs new Procurement Act</a></div><div><span dir="ltr" id="isPasted"></span></div><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">The law seeks to make government procurements faster and more transparent.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">&quot;The NGPA streamlines the procurement process from three months to just sixty days by standardizing procurement forms and institutionalizing electronic procurement. One of the salient features of this law is the provision of eleven new modalities of procurement. This will afford greater flexibility for government agencies in choosing how to best acquire goods and services,&quot; Marcos said in his speech.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">The NGPA also introduces the “Most Economically Advantageous Responsive Bid” concept, Marcos Jr. said.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">“This is actually an attempt to consider the qualitative, not only the purely quantitative, but the qualitative, economic value of any proposal, as an alternative to the prevailing practice of which we now do of choosing just the cheapest product or what we now call the Lowest Calculated and Responsive Bid,” he said.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">“This frees us from the obligation of selecting the lowest-priced bid when there is a better choice,” he said.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">“This will ensure that we get not only the best prices but the best deals for our clients, the Filipino people,” he said.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">The new law also mandates government agencies to conduct “Strategic Procurement Planning,” to have a “more detailed and purposeful planning to increase the success rates of procurement transactions.”</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">Procuring entities must now “also take into account our environment,” Marcos Jr. said.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">“The inclusion of sustainable and green public procurement practices in this law demonstrate the country’s commitment in addressing the worsening pollution and challenges of climate change,” he said.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">The NGPA, along with the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA), are expected to “move us closer to attaining a strong, more responsive, and efficient bureaucracy, and to establishing safeguards for the financial rights and welfare of every Filipino,” Marcos Jr. said.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">The laws were signed on a weekend, two days ahead of the President’s third State of the Nation Address.</p><p style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-top:0px">Marcos thanked the House of Representatives and the Senate for passing &quot;these two very important laws.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jYO6mROE4uc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Saturday signed into law the New Government Procurement Act and the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act ahead of his third SONA.</p>

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Saturday signed into law the New Government Procurement Act and the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act ahead of his third SONA.

Marcos signs laws on new government procurement, anti-financial scamming

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Marcos signs laws on new government procurement, anti-financial scamming

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 20, 2024 11:22 AM PHT

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Updated July 20, 2024 04:55 PM PHT

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